SOLD De Handwerken Op Het Eiland Marken (Marken Embroidery) * £15 €22 $45 Shipping Included

This softback book of 1960 is in Dutch. It has 76 pages and is in good used condition.

This is a comprehensive history of the distinctive needlework on what was once the Isle of Marken situated in the once undefended Ijsselmeer open to the rages of the North Sea. Now Marken is connected via a causeway to the mainland, just a bus ride away from central Amsterdam, and there is a barrage across the Ijsselmeer to prevent devastation by floods and storms.

This very traditional fishing community had its own customs and ways of life. Marker men never wore coats - even in the depth of winter - so anyone not from Marken was called a Coat.

The women wore and continue to wear embroidered headbands - the patterns of which were passed down from mother to daughter. The headbands are usually covered by a fine linen cap as you can see in the picture above.

Frequently these bands incorporated the three Christian virtues - Faith, Hope and Charity. Because Marker houses were very small, the women could finish their housework quickly - especially with their husbands away at sea, fishing, so they had much time for embroidery and knitting.

Marken women also wear very decorative embroidered bodices - as young girls the bodices are worn with the fastenings down the back. There is a rite of passage when a young girl reaches a certain age, the bodice is turned round so that the fastenings are  in front.